I had an offlist conversation with a silklist member that got me thinking. Following the contretemps last year about multiple people ostensibly using a single email account, and what this does to the notion of identity online [1], this member was of the opinion that pseudonyms such as "." or even "lawnun" should be discouraged on the list. I wasn't so sure, as I don't see why, for example, the string "From: Udhay Shankar N" is necessarily tied to the identity on my passport [2] - or even why this should matter, given that there is really no such thing as non-anonymous posting online. [3].
Lots more can be said about identity and anonymity, and no doubt will be said. One thing, however, struck me (given the core silklist principle of assuming goodwill). Might it not be a good idea to ask folks, including those who post as punctuation marks and Tolkien characters (yes, I'm looking at you, gandalf) to (re) introduce themselves, in the interest of letting the monkeyhouse know a little more about you? One could start with the newer members, but there is no need to restrict it to them. Feel free to inflict yourselves on the list all over again. :) Those who would like to be added the silklist community page [4], all you need to do is ask. Udhay [1] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/25150 [2] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-list/message/25252 [3] Context matters. There is no such thing as anonymous posting online, either, but that is a different profound truth and belongs in a different discussion. [4] http://silk.arachnis.com/community.html -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
